Books
To Conquer Life, First You Must Suffer
Why would a king give up his throne?
That’s precisely what Siddhartha’s father wondered when his son walked out on a wealthy lifestyle.
This opening isn’t just the origin story of Buddhism, but of the character Siddhartha in Herman Hesse’s book. And much like the man who started the religion, this Siddhartha learned something his rich lifestyle could never teach.
You can’t master a skill unless you practice it
The Siddhartha in the story isn’t actually the Buddha, but another man who happens to be named ‘Siddhartha.” A rich man’s son, he’s never wanted for anything. The story isn’t about the Buddha, but in fact about another man who happens to be named Siddhartha.
Despite being shielded from suffering by his father’s wealth and influence, he still wasn’t satisfied. He heard about the Buddha and his growing legion of followers, so he joined.
Even after joining the Buddha’s ashram, something didn’t sit right with him. The Buddha achieved his devout following by going through the grind of seeking enlightenment. Siddhartha, however, had gone from rich man’s son to devoted follower of a local saint — hardly struggling along the way.
“You have found deliverance from death. It has come to you out of your own seeking, on your own path, through thinking, through meditation, through knowledge, through enlightenment! And — such is my thinking, o Exalted One — no one attains deliverance through teaching!” — Siddhartha to the Buddha
And there’s weight to these words. Can you actually learn a skill without practicing it?
Siddhartha realizes he doesn’t want to simply follow the Buddha; he wants to search for enlightenment himself, and all the ups and downs that come with discovery. He wants to truly understand delicious feeling of “letting go” by experiencing the journey himself.
Simple joys aren’t appreciated if you’ve never known hardship
Siddhartha offers to work as a merchant for a wealthy businessman, Kamaswami. Siddhartha lives in Kamaswami’s house, slowly transforming from an ascetic to a materialistic merchant.
Servants brought him fine clothes, multiple meals a day, and drew him a daily bath. While it took years before he shed the jovial nature of his philosophy, it still happened. He felt pleasure and pride over owning material things and possessing “higher intellect” over others.
“Only slowly, amidst his growing riches, Siddhartha himself had adopted something of the nature of the child people, something of their childishness and of their scruples.”
“Child-people” are obsessed with the drama and materials in life, and their primal desires guide their behavior. But over time he too becomes like these “child people,” having lost himself in his curiosity.
“Belongings, assets, and wealth in the end had captured him, this was no longer play, these were no longer frills, rather they had become a burden, he was chained to them.” — ‘Siddhartha’ by Herman Hesse
He danced with girls, drank wine like water, and flaunted his superiority over others. He disgusted himself.
Do you recognize yourself in him? Sometimes, I do.
People aimlessly lose themselves in primal pleasures. But once you’re aware, will you repeat the same cycle or will you break free?
Thankfully, Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha broke free. Self-aware and disgusted, he allowed this obsession to die. Then he left.
He left the house he had owned, its garden, servants, his possessions, and Kamaswami behind. He had known this peace before, but it held a different weight. He was never truly bound by worldly posessions, so did he ever really appreciate that peace?
His appreciation for freedom was genuine, because now he had experienced feeling trapped. Sometimes you truly don’t realize what you had until it’s gone.
A Must-Read for a Spiritual Journey
I’m not the first to recommend this book, and I certainly won’t be the last. While I only wrote about two themes, the entirety of ‘Siddhartha’ is an experience to savor and relived again and again. It’ll force you to zoom out and then back in on the things that really matter. And, in a way, it’s a story about coming home to yourself.
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